Tennessee Titans vs. Dallas Cowboys Monday Night Football Preview

Two 3-4 teams, coming off bye weeks after losing their most recent game by close scores clash when the Tennessee Titans visit the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans fell to 1-3 on the road after losing 20-19 against the Los Angeles Chargers in London on October 21. The Titans went for a potential game-winning two-point conversion with 31 seconds remaining but Adrian Phillips broke up a Marcus Mariota pass attempt and the Chargers held on. Mariota completed 24 of 32 passes for 237 yards, one touchdown and one interception and he added 38 rushing yards on seven carries, Dion Lewis ran for 91 yards on 13 carries and Tajae Sharpe made seven catches for 101 receiving yards. Tennessee needs more from Marcus Mariota, who has just one touchdown pass in the last three games and only three in six games this season.

The Titans are averaging 173.0 passing yards (30th in the NFL) and 107.9 rushing yards (19th). Tennessee ranks 30th with 15.1 points per game and 3rd with 18.1 points against. Marcus Mariota has passed for 1,030 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions, Dion Lewis has 277 rushing yards and one touchdown on 73 carries and Corey Davis has 30 receptions for 395 yards and one touchdown. Jayon Brown has 47 tackles and Jurrell Casey has 3.5 sacks.

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys dropped to 0-4 on the road, 3-4 overall with their 20-17 loss against the Washington Redskins on October 21. The game ended with a missed 52-yard field-goal attempt by kicker Brett Maher, which followed a controversial, 5-yard, illegal-snap penalty, but the Cowboys lost thanks to a staunch defense against Ezekiel Elliott, who finished with just 33 rushing yards on 15 carries, the second-lowest total of his career.

Dak Prescott completed 22 of 35 passes for 273 yards and one touchdown and he also added 33 rushing yards and one touchdown on six carries. Despite the loss, the Cowboys still believe they can win the NFC East and they traded a first-round draft pick to the Raiders for wide receiver Amari Cooper, who has just 22 receptions for 280 yards and one touchdown in six games this season. The Cowboys hope he can produce like in 2015 and 2016, when he was named to the Pro Bowl and maybe the change of scenery will do wonders for him.

The Cowboys are averaging 183.1 passing yards (29th in the NFL) and 136.9 rushing yards (4th). Dallas ranks 26th with 20.0 points per game and 2nd with 17.6 points against. Dak Prescott has passed for 1,417 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions, Ezekiel Elliott has 619 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 132 carries and Cole Beasley has 33 receptions for 350 yards and two touchdowns. Jaylon Smith has 57 tackles and DeMarcus Lawrence has 5.5 sacks.

NFL Trends:

The Tennessee Titans are:

6-0 ATS in their last six Monday games

4-1 ATS in their last five games after accumulating more than 350 total yards in their previous game

7-2 ATS in their last nine games following a straight up loss

5-2 ATS in their last seven games after allowing less than 90 rushing yards in their previous game

The Dallas Cowboys are:

4-9 ATS in their last 13 Monday games

2-6 ATS in their last eight games in Week 9

The Titans will present a challenge for the Cowboys because they rank third in the league, allowing just 18.1 points per game and ninth allowing 238.4 passing yards per game, despite having just 15 sacks. They’re also solid against the run, allowing just 4.1 yards per carry. The Cowboys will likely feed the ball to Ezekiel Elliott, who ranks third in the NFL 88.4 rushing yards per game while averaging 4.7 yards per attempt but I just can’t trust in them laying so many points.